critic, Richard Eder, panned the play. The opening cast featured: Sidney Bruhl – John Wood Myra Bruhl – Marian Seldes Clifford Anderson – Victor Garber (understudy: Ernie Townsend) Helga ten Dorp – Marian Winters Porter Milgrim – Richard Woods Seldes appeared in every one of the play's 1,793 performances, a feat that earned her a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records as "most durable actress." Cast replacements as Sidney included Stacy Keach, John Cullum, Robert Reed, and Farley Granger. The play also ran in London's Garrick Theatre from 1978 to 1981. In 1982, Deathtrap was adapted into a film of the same name. It featured a romantic kiss between the two male leads. The two characters have generally been recognized as gay, though one theater publication noted in 1983 that "The homosexuality in mainstream plays such as Deathtrap do not immediately command an audience's attention." According to Martin Andrucki, professor of theater at Bates College, "It is a gay relationship, but it's a tacit one." A revival, directed by Matthew Warchus, opened August 21, 2010, at London's Noël Coward Theatre starring Simon Russell Beale as Sidney, Claire Skinner as Myra, Jonathan Groff as Clifford, Estelle Parsons as Helga and Terry Beaver as Porter. In 2012, the author's estate denied the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center permission to revive its production of the play. The refusal was initially based on a short scene in which Clifford was seen nude from the rear for less than 30 seconds at the end of the first act. Later permission was granted on condition that the staging avoid any suggestion of a physical relationship between Clifford and Sidney, and the Center chose not to proceed under that restriction. The staging had presented the pair as a male couple who embraced and kissed. Awards Deathtrap was nominated for 1978 Tony Awards for Best Play, Featured Actor, Featured Actress, and Best Director. Deathtrap also won Levin his second Edgar Award, for Best Play, after his 1968 award for Best Novel. Reception The play is known as one of the biggest hits on Broadway, running for four years with almost 1800 performances. The preface to the published script describes it as "something so evil that it infects all who touch it. The thing has a life of its own. In Deathtrap, Levin has taken the basic components of thrillers and horror stories; murder, deceit, innocent